Method and system to deposit drops

ABSTRACT

A system to deposit drops on a substrate includes a dispenser to dispense the drops, a shutter disposed between the dispenser and the substrate to focus the drops, and a screen, disposed between the dispenser and the shutter, configured to provide a charge to the drops.

BACKGROUND

Direct write processing is one way to manufacture low-cost electronics.One process for fabricating structures used in circuits using directwrite processing may involve the ejection of structure forming materialsfrom a print head.

When performing direct write processing by ejecting material from aprint head, the size of the drops ejected from the print head may affectthe size of the resulting structures. Where the size of the dropsejected is large relative to the size of the features to be fabricated,formation of such structures can be difficult. Additionally, whenperforming direct write processing by ejecting material from a printhead, the size of the drops ejected from the print head may affect theconnectivity of the resulting structures or traces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of the presentmethod and system and are a part of the specification. The illustratedembodiments are merely examples of the present system and method and donot limit the scope thereof.

FIG. 1 is a simple block diagram illustrating a material printingsystem, according to one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is simple block diagram illustrating a drop printing system,according to one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a thermal-inkjet print head,according to one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for performingdeposition using the printing system of FIG. 2, according to oneexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a number of exemplary materialpreprocessing methods, according to one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a printingsystem depositing a desired material, according to one exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a top view illustrating the spatial resolution of anembodiment of the present printing method, according to one exemplaryembodiment.

Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar,but possibly different, elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A number of exemplary methods and an apparatuses for using a dispenser,such as an inkjet material dispenser, to deposit material according to adeposition method are described herein. More specifically, the presentmethod and apparatus is configured to fabricate lines or dots as smallas 1 micron or smaller by initially creating droplets with an inkjetmaterial dispenser, depositing the droplets into a mist containmentstructure, charging the droplets, accelerating the droplets through aventuri, and focusing the final droplets onto selected areas of asubstrate. Additionally, the drop size may be filtered according to sizeprior to being focused onto the substrate. A detailed explanation of thecomponents and functions of the present apparatus will be givenhereafter.

As used in the present specification and the appended claims, the term“potential” is meant to be understood broadly as referring to adifference in an electrical charge, expressed in volts, between twopoints in a circuit.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present system and method for using an inkjetmaterial dispenser to perform material dispensing. It will be apparent,however, to one skilled in the art that the present method may bepracticed without these specific details. Reference in the specificationto “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. The appearance of the phrase “inone embodiment” in various places in the specification may be referringto different embodiments.

Exemplary Structure

FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of a printing system(100) that may be used to perform material deposition in ranges as lowas the zeptoliter range. A zeptoliter is equal to 1×10⁻²¹ liters. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the first exemplary printing system (100)includes a material dispenser (110) disposed adjacent to a materialreceiving substrate (150). FIG. 1 also illustrates a conductive screen(120) disposed between the material dispenser (110) and the materialreceiving substrate (150). As illustrated, the conductive screen iscoupled to a power supply (130). Additionally, a shutter (140) that iscoupled to the power supply (130) is disposed between the conductivescreen (120) and the material receiving substrate (150).

According to the first exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, theconductive screen (120) that is electrically coupled to a power supply(130) is positioned adjacent to the material dispenser (110) to impart anegative charge on droplets emitted by the material dispenser. Morespecifically, according to one exemplary embodiment, a voltage may beapplied to the electrically conductive screen (120) by the power supply(130). As material droplets are dispensed by the material dispenser(110), a negative charge may be induced to the material droplets by theconductive screen (120).

Adjacent to the conductive screen (120) is a shutter (140). According toone exemplary embodiment, the shutter (140) acts as a filter to reducethe average size of the droplets allowed to pass. According to oneexemplary embodiment, the shutter (140) includes a pair of electrodesproducing a positive field in the trajectory path of the negativelycharged droplets. Due to the negative charge imposed upon the dropletsby the conductive screen (120), relatively small droplets are morelikely to be allowed to pass the positive electric field produced by theshutter (140). The larger droplets will likely be attracted to thepositive electric field and will not be allowed to continue towards thesubstrate (150). Additionally, the shutter (140) may be configured tofocus the material droplet towards the material receiving substrate(150), as will be explained in further detail below with reference toFIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of a printing system(200) that may be used to perform material deposition in ranges as lowas the zeptoliter range. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the second exemplaryprinting system (200) includes an embodiment of a dispenser, such asinkjet material dispenser (210), disposed adjacent to a mist containmentbox (220). As illustrated, the mist containment box (220) has both anentrance (222) and an exit (224) orifice. A conductive screen (230)electrically coupled to a power supply (235) is disposed adjacent to theexit orifice (224) of the mist containment box (220). Continuing fromthe exit orifice (224), a venturi (240) is disposed adjacent to theconductive screen (230) and leads to a first (250) and second (260)shutter en route to a material receiving substrate (270). Theindependent components of the present high resolution printing system(200) will now be discussed in further detail below.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the inkjet material dispenser(210) is a thermal inkjet material dispenser similar to the oneillustrated in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the thermal inkjet materialdispenser (300) includes a base portion (350), a chamber portion (360)and an orifice plate portion (320). Additionally, a nozzle (310) isformed in the orifice plate (320) to permit the escape of dispensedmaterial.

As discussed above, the thermal inkjet material dispenser (300) may beconfigured to function as a material deposition source by selectivelydispensing a desired material. Accordingly, the thermal inkjetarchitecture, the drive waveform produced by the thermal inkjet, thepulse spacing of the thermal inkjet, and/or the material properties ofthe sample material may be adjusted to produce substantially uniformmaterial droplets in the form of a mist. According to one exemplaryembodiment, a fine drop mist may be formed with a thermal inkjetmaterial dispenser (300) by reducing the size of the nozzle (310)employed. According to this exemplary embodiment, the drop sizes of thematerial emitted from the reduced nozzle (310) may be 2-3 orders ofmagnitude, or more, smaller than the nominal size of material dropletsemitted. Additionally, even smaller droplet magnitudes are conceivableby further varying the thermal inkjet material dispenser (300).

In addition to producing uniform drop sizes, the use of an inkjetmaterial dispenser allows for a desirable level of the materialproduction frequency. According to one exemplary embodiment, the presentprinting system (200; FIG. 2) incorporating an inkjet material dispenser(210; FIG. 2) is capable of producing material at a rate of up to andbeyond 1 kHz. The above exemplary embodiment describes a range offrequencies and drop volumes for illustrative purposes only and theresults may be altered by varying a number of factors including, but inno way limited to, sample density and thermal inkjet material dispenserproperties. Moreover, while the present exemplary embodiment isdescribed in the context of implementing a thermal inkjet materialdispenser (300) to produce the fine drop mist, any number of dispensersmay be used including, but in no way limited to, thermally activatedinkjet material dispensers, mechanically activated inkjet materialdispensers, electrically activated inkjet material dispensers,magnetically activated material dispensers, and/or piezoelectricallyactivated material dispensers.

Returning again to FIG. 2, once the inkjet material dispenser (210) hasproduced a fine drop mist of a desired material, the mist may becontained within a mist containment box (220). The mist containment box(220), configured to receive the generated material mist, may be anysubstantially sealed containment volume of any number of shapes,configured to receive the drop mist and temporarily house the mist atsubstantially atmospheric pressure. Additionally, the mist containmentbox (220) may be heated to further reduce the mist drop size throughevaporation. Moreover, as mentioned previously, the mist containment box(220) includes an entrance (222) and an exit (224) configured to furtherfacilitate the reception and deposition of desired material droplets.

A conductive screen (230) electrically coupled to a power supply (235)is positioned adjacent to the exit (224) of the mist containment box(220). According to one exemplary embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 2, theelectrically conductive screen (230) is an arrangement of wires or otherconductive structures or materials to which an electric potential may beapplied. According to one exemplary embodiment, the electricallyconductive grid (230) is formed of 316 stainless steel. The electricallyconductive screen (230) is configured to allow any sample source exitingthe mist containment box (220) to pass there through. According to oneexemplary embodiment, the distance separating the mist containment box(220) and the electrically conductive screen (230) is in the order of afew centimeters (cm). During operation, a voltage is applied to theelectrically conductive grid (230) by the power supply (235). As themist droplets escape the mist containment box (220) a negative chargemay be induced thereto by the conductive screen (230).

Immediately adjacent to the conductive screen (230) is a venturi (240).A venturi (240) is a tube with a smoothly varying constriction forming athroat in the middle thereof. Due to the varying constriction of theventuri (240), as a fluid or gas is passed therethrongh, it experienceschanges in velocity and pressure, as described by Bernoulli's principle.According to one exemplary embodiment, as a gas (290) of suitabievelocity is passed through the venturi (240), the velocity will increaseand the pressure in the venturi will be reduced below atmosphericpressure, thereby drawing in mist droplets from the mist containment box(220). As the mist droplets are drawn into the gas stream (290), theyare accelerated with the gas until they exit the venturi (240).

Adjacent to the venturi (240) is a first (250) and a second (260)shutter. According to one exemplary embodiment, the first shutter (250)acts as a filter to further reduce the average size of the dropletsallowed to pass. According to the exemplary embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, the first shutter (250) includes a pair of electrodes producinga positive field in the trajectory path of the negatively charged mist.Due to the negative charge imposed upon the droplets by the conductivescreen (230), relatively small droplets are more likely to be allowed topass the positive electric field produced by the first shutter (250).The larger droplets will likely be attracted to the positive electricfield and will not be allowed to continue towards the substrate (270).Additionally, the positive field generated by the first shutter (250)may be varied to vary the size of the negatively charged dropletsallowed therethrough. The voltage applied by the first shutter (250) isinversely proportional to the drop diameter, and subsequently negativecharge, that will be allowed through. Additionally, according to oneexemplary embodiment, the electric field generated by the first shutter(250) could be time varying with a time equal to or smaller than thetransit time of drops passing through the shutters, thereby creating apulse effect.

Similarly, the second shutter (260) is configured to focus the finaldroplet size used for printing. According to this exemplary embodiment,the second shutter (260) includes a pair of electrodes configured toreceive a variable positive charge from a voltage source, therebyfocusing and positionally directing the material droplets onto thesubstrate (270). Accordingly, the second shutter may be made of anyconductive material including, but in no way limited to, stainlesssteel.

The substrate (270) used in the present system and method, may be anysurface configured to receive a printed material including, but in noway limited to, a circuit board, a touch screen, a backplane, or a radiofrequency identification label. Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 2, aservo mechanism (280) may be coupled to the substrate (270) toselectively position the substrate for the reception of a desiredmaterial. The servo mechanism (280) may include any number of gears,belts, pulleys, motors, or chains configured to precisely andselectivley position the substrate (270). Alternatively, the servomechansim (280) may be coupled to the printing system (200) toselectively position the system over a stationary substrate (270).

Exemplary Implementation and Operation

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for using theprinting system (200) illustrated in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 4,the present method begins by creating a mist of sample material dropletswith an inkjet material dispenser (step 400). Once the droplets aregenerated, the sample droplet mist is deposited into a mist containmentbox (step 410) until they are drawn into a venturi (step 420). As thesample droplet mist is being drawn into the venturi from the mistcontainment box (step 420), the material mist droplets are given acharge (step 430) and accelerated through the venturi (step 440). Oncethe charged mist droplets exit the venturi, the average drop size isreduced (step 450) and they are selectively focused onto a substrate(step 460). The individual steps of the above-mentioned method will nowbe described in further detail below.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the present exemplary method begins bygenerating a mist of sample droplets with an inkjet material dispenser(step 400). The “mist” of sample droplets can be formed from an inkjetmaterial dispenser by performing one or more material dispenserpre-processing methods. As illustrated in FIG. 5, pre-processing methodsthat may be performed on a generated mist include, but are in no waylimited to, performing a nozzle adjustment (510), performing evaporationmethods (520), and/or performing chemical reactions (540) during orafter the mist generation process.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the nozzle adjustment (510) thatmay be performed on the present inkjet material dispenser (210; FIG. 2)includes, but is in no way limited to, feeding multiple nozzles with anominal quantity of material (512) or reduce both the nozzle andmaterial quantity sizes (514). According to one exemplary embodiment,the performance of one or more of the above-mentioned nozzle adjustments(510) will achieve a material drop size that is two to three orders ofmagnitude smaller than nominal inkjet material drop sizes.

Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a number of evaporation methodsmay be performed on the generated mist droplets to further reduce theirvolume. Accordingly, a partial evaporation of a diluted solution, bypassing the generated mist through an area with an elevated temperature,will reduce its volume. If an evaporation stage is implemented by thepresent system and method, the elevated-temperature area should be longenough to allow the partial evaporation of the mist droplets. By way ofexample only, if a 6 picoliter drop containing 98% solvent is passedthrough a hot zone of 5 millimeters or longer, the temperature may beadjusted to give 90% evaporation, resulting in a final drop dimension ofapproximately 0.6 picoliters. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the hot zone maybe generated by the application of any number of energy sourcesincluding, but in no way limited to, thermal energy (522), a laser(524), ultrasound radiation (526), ultraviolet radiation (528), ormicrowave radiation (530).

Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a number of chemical reactionsmay be performed on the generated mist droplets to further modify theirsize or other desirable attributes. The chemical reactions performed onthe generated mist droplets can be made possible by including a reactivecarrier gas (542), including an additional chemical reactive mist (544),initiating a nucleation of nanodroplets (546), and/or initiatingpolymerization (548).

Once the mist droplets are generated and/or pre-processed, the mistdroplets are deposited in a mist containment box (step 410; FIG. 4). Themist droplets may be directly dispensed into the mist containment box(220) by the inkjet material dispenser (210), or the mist droplets maybe drawn into the mist containment box by a gas flowing at a suitablevelocity. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the mist containment box (220) mayreceive the dispensed droplets (600) and store them in the mistcontainment box (220) as a contained mist (610). The mist containmentbox (220) may be any contained volume, regardless of its cross-sectionalprofile. Additionally, the mist containment box (220) may be heated,according to one exemplary embodiment, to maintain the mist droplets intheir mist form and reduce condensation.

In conjunction with the storage of the contained mist (610) within themist containment box (220), a gas of suitable velocity is passed throughthe venturi (240) causing a low pressure in the venturi. As a result ofthe lower pressure in the venturi (240), a pressure differential betweenthe atmospheric pressure of the mist containment box (220) and the lowerpressure of the venturi exists. As a result, the contained mist (610) isdrawn out of the mist containment box (220) toward the lower pressure ofthe venturi (240).

As the contained mist (610) exits the mist containment box (220), it ispassed through the conductive screen (230) coupled to a power supply(235). As the mist is passed through the conductive screen (230), anegative electrostatic charge is applied to the mist, according to oneexemplary embodiment. Alternatively, a positive charge may be applied tothe mist droplets.

Regardless of the charge of the mist, it is subsequently caught up inthe gas (620) that is flowing through the venturi (240). Consequently,the charged mist droplets also flow through the venturi (240) towardsthe first shutter (250). According to one exemplary embodiment, thecarrier gas is an inert gas. Alternatively, the carrier gas may bereactive, such as an oxidizing (O2) carrier gas or a reducing (H2) agentconfigured to initiate a chemical reaction (540; FIG. 5) on the mist.

Additionally, the carrier gas and the charged mist droplets (630) may beaccelerated through the venturi (240) by an electrical potential betweenthe conductive screen (230) and an additional electrode. According tothis exemplary embodiment, the additional electrode forming anaccelerating potential may include, but is in no way limited to, one ormore of the shutters (250, 260) or the material receiving substrate(270). The velocity and acceleration of the mist droplets may becontrolled by varying the electrical potential. For fluids which benefitfrom mixing of the droplets, the electrical potential, and consequentlythe velocity can be reduced to promote contact/mixing of the droplets.

As the charged droplets (630) exit the venturi (240), they are directedtowards a first shutter (250). As noted above, the first shutter isconfigured to reduce the size of the charged droplets that are allowedto pass. According to one exemplary embodiment, the first shutterincludes a plurality of positively charged electrodes. According to thisexemplary embodiment, the positive charge placed on the electrodes ofthe first shutter (250) controls the size of the negatively charged dropallowed to pass. Due to the negative charge imposed upon the droplets bythe conductive screen (230), primarily relatively small droplets will beallowed to pass the positive electric field produced by the firstshutter (250). The larger droplets will frequently be attracted to thepositive electric field and will usually not be allowed to continuetowards the substrate (270). Additionally, the positive field generatedby the first shutter (250) may be varied to vary the average size of thenegatively charged droplets allowed therethrough. The voltage applied bythe first shutter (250) is inversely proportional to the desired dropdiameter, and subsequently the negative charge that will be allowedthrough. It should be kept in mind, however, that the drop size which isinitially generated by the present system and method may be verydifferent from the drop size which is actually deposited. This isachieved by size selection (e.g. by means of filtration) and also bysize reduction (e.g. solvent evaporation during in-flight processing ofdroplets.)

Alternatively, the first shutter may be any mechanism for reducing thedroplet size allowed to pass there through. According to one alternativeembodiment, the first shutter (250) includes, but is in no way limitedto, a size reducing filter, an electric field, a size reducing membrane,and the like.

The second shutter (260) of the exemplary printing system focuses thefinal droplet size used for printing so that it may be selectively andaccurately deposited on the substrate (270). According to one exemplaryembodiment, both of the shutters (250, 260) control the droplet size bythe amount of positive voltage applied. The larger the voltage, thesmaller the average drop diameter will be allowed through. Additionally,the positive voltage applied to the second shutter (260) may be variedto direct the final deposition charged droplets (640) towards thesubstrate (270). According to one exemplary embodiment, the electrodesof the second shutter (260) are more closely spaced than the electrodesof one exemplary embodiment of the first shutter (250) to aid in thefocusing of the final deposition charged droplets (640) and to increasethe resolution of the resulting deposition.

Moreover, the selective deposition of the present final depositioncharged droplets (640) may be facilitated by the servo mechanism (280)coupled to the present printing system (200). As illustrated in FIG. 6,the servo mechanism (280) may be configured to selectively translate thesubstrate (270), thereby varying the placement of the final depositioncharged droplets (640). According to one exemplary embodiment, the servomechanism (280) may be selectively controlled by a computing device (notshown) communicatively coupled thereto. Alternatively, the servomechanism (280) may be coupled to the printing system (200) toselectively position the printing system (200) over a stationarysubstrate (270). Once deposited on the substrate (270), the chargeddroplets may adhere to the substrate (270) through mechanical adhesionand evaporation of a solvent carrier.

In general, the larger the drop ejected, the more likely the solidcontent of the drop will collect along the edges of the drop, therebydecreasing the connectivity of adjacent drops. Using the illustratedsystem and methods, a resolution of 1 micrometer lines and or 1micrometer dots may be produced. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the increasedresolution of the resulting depositions, when depositing electronicmaterials, increases the connectivity of the resulting deposition. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the present deposition (750) includes relativelysmall droplets (760) exhibiting enhanced film uniformity. Consequently,there is an increased connectivity of the deposition (750) because withthe relatively smaller droplets the collection of the solid contentincluded in the deposited fluid near the edges of the drop would be lessdistance from the center of the area onto which the drop is depositedthan would be the case with relatively larger drops.

Additionally, the incorporation of an inkjet material dispenser as amist generator allows for the generation of the droplets (760) at adesired frequency. According to one exemplary embodiment, the droplets(760) may be generated at frequencies of up to 1 KHz.

Moreover, the present system and method allow for the mist droplets tobe transported in either a carrier gas or an electric field. Accordingto the present system and method, the carrier gas and/or the electricfield strength can be modified to vary the reaction experienced by themist droplets. In the case of reactive mist droplets, duration ofin-flight processing can be tuned to allow reaction between droplets.Additionally, in the case of a reactive carrier gas, the mist dropletsmay be oxidized for oxides or reduced for metals.

Alternative Embodiments

According to one alternative embodiment, a focused laser beam orultraviolet (UV) beam may be used to increase adhesion of thedeposited/printed mist droplets. As noted above, with reference to FIG.5, laser and UV beams may be used to evaporate the above-mentioned mistdroplets. According to one exemplary embodiment, a UV or a laser beammay be directed towards the desired substrate (270; FIG. 6) immediatelypreceding, or in conjunction with the deposition of the deposited mistdroplets. Accordingly, the deposited mist droplets can be deposited on amolten puddle formed on the desired substrate. Consequently, a number ofpreviously unconsidered materials, such as ceramics, may be deposited bythe present system and method.

In conclusion, the present system and method allow for the printing of adesired deposition material by incorporating an inkjet materialdispenser. More specifically, the present system and method isconfigured to fabricate features of 1 micron or smaller by initiallycreating material sample droplets with an inkjet material dispenser,depositing the mist droplets into a mist containment structure, chargingthe droplets, accelerating the droplets through a venturi, and focusingthe final droplets onto selected areas of a substrate. Additionally, thedrop size may be further filtered prior to being focused onto thesubstrate.

The preceding description has been presented only to illustrate anddescribe exemplary embodiments of the present system and method. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present system and methodto any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations arepossible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scopeof the present system and method be defined by the following claims.

1. A system to deposit drops on a substrate comprising: a dispenser todispense said drops; a shutter disposed between said dispenser and saidsubstrate to reduce a size of said drops; and a screen, disposed betweensaid dispenser and said shutter, configured to provide a charge to saiddrops.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said dispenser comprises aninkjet dispenser.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein said inkjetdispenser comprises one of a thermally activated inkjet materialdispenser, a mechanically activated inkjet material dispenser, anelectrically activated inkjet material dispenser, a magneticallyactivated material dispenser, or a piezoelectrically activated inkjetmaterial dispenser.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said dropscomprise between 1 picoliter and 1 zeptoliter.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein said drops comprise: a solvent; and a conductive materialdispersed within said solvent.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein saidsubstrate comprises one of a circuit board, a touch screen, a backplane,or a radio frequency identification label.
 7. The system of claim 1,further comprising a second shutter disposed between said shutter andsaid dispenser, said second shutter configured to focus said drops ontosaid substrate.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said substrate or saidsecond shutter is configured to operate as an electrode to produce apotential between said screen and said electrode, said potentialselected to accelerate said drops toward said substrate.
 9. The systemof claim 7, wherein said second shutter comprises a plurality ofelectrodes configured to focus said drops by varying a voltage on saidplurality of electrodes.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein said shuttercomprises: a plurality of electrodes; said plurality of electrodes beingconfigured to affect passage of said drops based on a size of saiddrops.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein said plurality of electrodesis configured to affect passage of said drops by varying a voltage onsaid plurality of electrodes.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein saidshutter comprises one of a membrane or a filter configured to reduce asize of said drops.
 13. The system of claim 1, further comprising apower supply coupled to said screen.
 14. The system of claim 13, whereinsaid screen comprises a conductive stainless steel screen.
 15. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising: a servo mechanism configured toposition said substrate; and a computing device communicatively coupledto said servo mechanism.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein said servomechanism is coupled to said substrate.
 17. The system of claim 1,wherein said shutter is configured to operate as an electrode; whereinsaid electrode is configured to produce a potential between said screenand said electrode, said potential selected to accelerate, said dropstowards said substrate.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein said shuttergenerates an electric field to that varies with time so as to passpulses of said drops of a reduced size.
 19. The system claim 1, furthercomprising a hot zone trough which said drops pass, said hot zonecausing evaporation of a solvent of said drops.
 20. The system of claim1, further comprising an emitter of an energy beam directed at saidsubstrate to selectively heat a portion of said substrate receiving saiddrops.
 21. A system to deposit drops on a substrate comprising: adispenser to dispense said drops; a shutter disposed between saiddispenser and said substrate; a screen, disposed between said dispenserand said shutter, configured to provide a charge to said drops; and amist containment box disposed between said dispenser and said screen;said mist containment box being configured to house said drops atatmospheric pressure.
 22. A system to deposit drops on a substratecomprising: a dispenser to dispense said drops; a shutter disposedbetween said dispenser and said substrate; a screen, disposed betweensaid dispenser and said shutter, configured to provide a charge to saiddrops; and a venturi disposed between said screen and said shutter, saidventuri being configured to receive a carrier gas flow.
 23. The systemof claim 22, wherein said carrier gas flow comprises one of an inertgas, an oxidizing gas, or a reducing gas.
 24. A system for forming anelectronic component on a substrate, comprising: a material dispenserconfigured to dispense a mist of material droplets; a mist containmentbox disposed between said substrate and said material dispenserconfigured to house said mist of material droplets at atmosphericpressure; a conductive screen coupled to a power supply, said conductivescreen being disposed between said mist containment box and saidsubstrate, said conductive screen being configured to provide anelectrostatic charge to said material droplets; a venturi disposedbetween said conductive screen and said substrate; a size reducingshutter disposed between said venturi and said substrate; and a focusingshutter disposed between said size reducing shutter and said substrate.25. The system of claim 24, wherein said material dispenser comprisesone of a thermally activated inkjet material dispenser, a mechanicallyactivated inkjet material dispenser, an electrically activated inkjetmaterial dispenser, a magnetically activated material dispenser, or apiezoelectrically activated inkjet material dispenser.
 26. The system ofclaim 24, wherein said material droplets comprise between 1 picoliterand 1 zeptoliter.
 27. The system of claim 24, wherein said electroniccomponent comprises one of a circuit board, a touch screen, a backplane,or a radio frequency identification label.
 28. The system of claim 24,wherein said size reducing shutter comprises: a plurality of electrodes;said plurality of electrodes being configured to affect passage of saidmaterial droplets based on a size of said material droplets.
 29. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein said plurality of electrodes is configuredto affect passage of said material droplets by varying a voltage on saidplurality of electrodes.
 30. The system of claim 24, wherein said sizereducing shutter comprises one of a membrane or a filter configured toreduce a size of said material droplets.
 31. The system of claim 24,wherein said focusing shutter comprises a plurality of electrodesconfigured to focus said material droplets by varying a voltage on saidplurality of electrodes.
 32. The system of claim 24, wherein saidconductive screen comprises a stainless steel screen.
 33. The system ofclaim 24, further comprising a servo mechanism coupled to said system;said servo mechanism further being communicatively coupled to acomputing device.
 34. The system of claim 24, wherein said size reducingshutter, said focusing shutter, or said substrate is configured to actas a an electrode; wherein said electrode is configured to produce apotential between said conductive screen and said electrode, saidpotential being configured to accelerate said mist of material dropletstowards said substrate.
 35. A system for depositing drops on a substratecomprising: a dispenser configured to dispense drops; a means forreducing a size of said drops after said drops have been dispensed; anda means for applying a charge to said drops.
 36. The system of claim 35,wherein said dispenser is configured to dispense a mist of materialdroplets.
 37. The system of claim 35, wherein said substrate is disposedadjacent to said dispenser; and said system further comprises means forfocusing said drops disposed between said dispenser and said substrate;and said means for applying a charge to said drops is disposed betweensaid dispenser and said means for focusing said drops.
 38. The system ofclaim 37, wherein said means for reducing a size of said drops isdisposed prior to said means for focusing of said drops.
 39. The systemof claim 35, wherein said dispenser comprises one of a thermallyactivated inkjet material dispenser, a mechanically activated inkjetmaterial dispenser, an electrically activated inkjet material dispenser,a magnetically activated material dispenser, or a piezoelectricallyactivated inkjet material dispenser.
 40. The system of claim 35, whereinsaid drops comprise between 1 picoliter and 1 zeptoliter.
 41. The systemof claim 35, wherein said substrate comprises one of a circuit board, atouch screen, a backplane, or a radio frequency identification label.42. The system of claim 35, further comprising a means for containingsaid drops at atmospheric pressure.
 43. The system of claim 35, furthercomprising a venturi disposed between said means for applying a chargeand said means for reducing a size of said drops, said venturi beingconfigured to receive a carrier gas flow.
 44. The system of claim 35,further comprising a means for selectively moving said substraterelative to said dispenser.
 45. The system of claim 35, furthercomprising means for producing a potential, said potential beingconfigured to accelerate said drops towards said substrate.
 46. A methodfor depositing drops on a substrate, comprising: dispensing drops;imparting a charge on said drops; reducing a size of saidpreviously-dispensed drops before said drops reach said substrate; andfocusing said drops toward said substrate.
 47. The method of claim 46,further comprising controlling a size of said drops to a range from 1picoliter to 1 zeptoliter.
 48. The method of claim 47, wherein said stepof controlling a size of said drops comprises varying a charge on aplurality of electrodes as said drops having said charge pass saidelectrodes.
 49. The method of claim 47, wherein said step of controllinga size of said drops comprises passing said drops through a filteringmedium.
 50. The method of claim 46, further comprising accelerating saiddrops toward said substrate.
 51. The method of claim 50, wherein saidstep of accelerating said drops towards said substrate comprisesaccelerating said drops through a venturi.
 52. The method of claim 50,wherein said step of accelerating said drops towards said substratecomprises producing a potential selected to accelerate said dropstowards said substrate.
 53. The method of claim 46, wherein saidimparting a charge on said drops comprises inducing an electrostaticcharge in said drops by passing said drops through a charged conductivescreen.
 54. The method of claim 46, wherein said step of focusing saiddrops towards said substrate comprises selectively applying a charge toa plurality of electrodes.
 55. The method of claim 46, furthercomprising focusing a laser beam or an ultraviolet beam towards saidsubstrate to increase adhesion of said drops onto said substrate.
 56. Amethod for depositing drops on a substrate, comprising: dispensingdrops; imparting a charge on said drops; focusing said drops toward saidsubstrate; and processing said drops to reduce a size of said drops. 57.The method of claim 56, wherein said processing further comprises one ofadjusting a nozzle of an inkjet material dispenser, performing anevaporation method on said drops, or performing a chemical reaction onsaid drops.
 58. The method of claim 57, wherein said step of adjusting anozzle of an inkjet material dispenser comprises one of feeding multiplenozzles with a nominal quantity of material, or reducing both a size ofsaid nozzle and a quantity of material being emitted from said nozzle.59. The method of claim 57, wherein said step at performing anevaporation method on said drops comprises one of applying thermalenergy to said drops, applying a laser to said drops, applyingultrasound to said drops, applying ultraviolet radiation to said drops,or applying microwaves to said drops.
 60. The method of claim 57,wherein said step of performing a chemical reaction on said dropscomprises one of applying a reactive carrier gas to said drops,combining a plurality of chemically reactive drops, initiating anucleation of said drops, or initiating an initial polymerization ofsaid drops.
 61. A method for depositing drops on a substrate comprising:a step for generating drops; a step for establishing a charge on saiddrops; a step for directing said drops toward said substrate; and a stepfor reducing a size of said drops before said drops are applied to saidsubstrate.
 62. The method of claim 61, further comprising a step forcausing a size of said material droplets to a range from 1 picoliter to1 zeptoliter.
 63. The method of claim 61, wherein said step for reducinga size of said drops comprises: electrostatically charging said drops;and varying a charge on a plurality of electrostatically as saidelectrostatically charged drops pass said electrodes.
 64. The method ofclaim 61, wherein said step for reducing a size of said drops comprisespassing said drops through a filtering medium.
 65. The method of claim61, further comprising a step for increasing an adhesion of said dropsonto said substrate.